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Re: Desperate! Need help with newborn!

i'm so glad the LLLeader was helpful - that's great.

this is a good example of when weighing too frequently can be a problem - we panic about every little dip, and don't see the long-term or larger picture. (saying that not just for OP but for others who may be reading). so - are you weighing at home? it might be time to just let baby nurse nonstop for a few days to catch up and get better at his new skillz and put the scale away. once-weekly weighings are PUH-lenty for most babies! that'll give you a good idea of the trend.

edited to add: what an exciting birth! i take it that wasn't the plan; glad it worked out for everyone!

Re: Desperate! Need help with newborn!

Was about to leave for the maternity and he decided to arrive beforehand, right there and then, no time to even get to the bed!

The only problem we're having now is that he gets confused about being put to the boob having been fed with tube and finger at previous feed. Takes him 5-10mins to manage to latch and suckle. Tried putting tube directly on boob but he just falls asleep. Will keep on at it though. My nipples/breasts are sore from all the action. Know that his latch needs tweaking too. Have an appt with a LLL next week so fingers crossed all goes well in the meantime.

Re: Desperate! Need help with newborn!

why do some babies automatically shut down when they're put on the breast? it's so frustrating! my last baby was exactly like this too and never gained his birth weight by wk 7 and had to switch to formula. it's like there's sleeping potion in my milk!

Re: Desperate! Need help with newborn!

it's the sucking that puts babies to sleep this is actually normal. It is a problem if the baby is unable to transfer enough milk before falling asleep which would be due to a milk transfer issue assuming the mother makes enough milk. I'm still confused about if your baby is gaining appropriately overall or not. If your baby is gaining appropriately and it doesn't really matter if he falls asleep quickly.
Also of course many babies continue to suckle and transfer milk with their eyes closed and basically asleep. When you say your baby is going to sleep on the breast I assume he is actually no longer suckling at all and coming off the breast?

Re: Desperate! Need help with newborn!

A long shot but could the silicone nipple shields be the problem? He suckles while asleep but the milk just runs out of his mouth, ending up in soaked bib. He doesn't seem to swallow, even when actively feeding he doesn't always swallow.

The one time he was really very different was after the osteopath appt - I'm making another one as soon as I can. Osteopath confirmed his tongue doesn't come out far enough - he's made progress but perhaps it needs to come out a bit more?

Today he's put on weight - but I'm going to wait until he keeps putting on to believe he's gaining. Normally I weigh him once a week but since he was losing still the LLL told me to weigh him daily as we may have to seek further professional help. He's now 3500g - that's just 180g off his birth weight! (This weight gain is from feeding him supplement before feed during last night - ensuring he'd get his quota. Today I feed before supplement.)

Would it be too soon to try and stop using the nipple shields? I could try to pump to get the nipple out so that he could latch on - have been trying it and so far no luck. Is there anything else in particular that I could do to eliminate the shields or should I concentrate on 1 problem at a time?!

Re: Desperate! Need help with newborn!

A long shot but could the silicone nipple shields be the problem?

Well it's not a long shot at all. Nipple shields have certainly been linked to both poor weight gain and low milk supply. It does not always happen, but it does happen-There are differing opinions about why this is-is it due to the sheilds themselves, or due to whatever latch issue is causing the need for sheilds, but whatever, this is an issue that comes up sometimes with shields.

Whether you want to work on getting baby off the shield now or later and how much you want to press it is entirely up to you-there just is no single right answer to this.

Have you tried the nipple/breast sandwich technique, nipple flip, that kind of thing? Pumping to bring the nipple out may help as well...
I know you have had assistance from an LLL leader and an osteopath. Have you ever seen/is it possible for you to see a Board Certified Lactation Consultant? (IBCLC?)

Re: Desperate! Need help with newborn!

yes will see the osteo again today and if no change will consult a IBCLC. Think its out only option as his latch needs improvement and we need to get on top of his feeding problem this week (OH returning to work next week).